Christian Encarnacion-Strand

Christian Encarnacion-Strand headlines Friday's top waiver adds The post Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Picks: 3/28 appeared first on Pitcher List.

With Spencer Steer (shoulder) still unable to throw and Will Benson sent to Triple-A, it looks like Lux will get the first shot to be the regular left fielder against right-handed pitching and his spot in the middle of the order could make for solid RBI value. That means Jeimer Candelario will also get to be in the starting lineup at third base, with Christian Encarnacion-Strand at first. The Reds full Opening Day lineup is: TJ Friedl CF, Matt McLain 2B, Elly De La Cruz SS, Gavin Lux LF, Jeimer Candelario 3B, Spencer Steer DH, Christian Encarnacion-Strand 1B, Jake Fraley RF, and Jose Trevino C.

At least, that's what Statcast says. It'd certainly be big if true; Encarnacion-Strand's highest EV in major league games to date is 113.3 mph. He did hit a ball 114.2 mph earlier this spring, so the healthy wrist is probably doing him some good. 117.7 mph is elite territory, though. CES is batting .273/.298/.523 as he tries to lock up a job this spring. There's a chance that he'll turn into a cleanup-hitting, fantasy league-winning, 35-homer beast this year. There's also a chance he'll be back in Triple-A on May 1.

That's three homers already for CES, who has a much better path to playing time with Spencer Steer set to open up on the injured list. He's still not promised much of anything, but it'd be no surprise if he's one of the Reds' best hitters and a useful mixed-league CI.